GEOG*3020 - Global Environmental Change
Course Description
This course studies the social drivers of global environmental change and examines how influential governance organizations work in response. The course explores interactions among socio-economic systems, governance institutions, and biophysical processes. Specific attention is given to the causes of climate change and its implications for people and the places they call home.
Note: This course can be taken individually or as a part of a certificate program.
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the learner should be able to:
- Define climate, describe the greenhouse effect, and discuss post-industrialization emissions and climate change trends and patterns driven by human activity;
- Summarize the history of the United Nations and outline key meetings, agreements, development goals, and other events important to the integration of environmental concerns into this international body;
- Discuss and provide examples that support the claim that environmental change is uneven and socially complex;
- Describe key methods and approaches used in climate and environmental science and explain how indicators help us to track and monitor the social-ecological impacts of global environmental change;
- Explain achievements, challenges, and advances in global environmental governance and discuss reasons for 'hope' in the face of global environmental change;
- Illustrate and apply key course concepts, including (but not exclusive to) mitigation, adaptation, sustainable development, environmental (in)justice, double exposure, common but differentiated responsibility, and social-ecological systems; and
- Synthesize research on a specific country, an economic sector within that country, and climate science projections relevant to that country and sector.
Course Topics
- The Greenhouse Effect, Global Warming, and Climate Change
- The United Nations and International Action on Global Environmental Change
- Global Environmental Change – Uneven and Socially Complex
- Taking Stock and Thinking Like a Social Scientist
- The UN and Efforts to Address Global Environmental Change
- Sustainable Development as a Response and Approach to Global Inequality and Rapid Environmental Change
- Global Surface Temperatures
- Extreme Weather and Climate
- The United Nations’ Approach to Global Environmental Change – Limits and Progress
- Caring, Sharing, and Talking About Global Environmental Change
Additional Requirements
Prerequisite(s): 7.50 credits
Assessment
| Assessment Item | Weight | Learning Outcomes |
| Quiz | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 5, 6 |
| Project Proposal | 15% | 3, 7 |
| Major Course Project | 30% | 3, 4, 6, 7 |
| Small Group Discussion | 15% | 3, 4, 5 |
| Take-Home Final Exam | 20% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| Total | 100% | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 |
Applies Towards the Following Certificates
- Certificate in Environmental Citizenship : Electives
- Certificate in Environmental Conservation : Electives
Technical Requirements
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*Course details are subject to change.